Posts Tagged ‘Studer Vista’

POTTERS BAR, United Kingdom – HARMAN’s Studer today announced the release of significant new features for the Vista X, Vista V, Vista 1 and Vista 5 M3 digital consoles. This new software update includes the ability to assign Strip Setups as CUE events; support of the Soundcraft Realtime Rack (UAD plug-ins); support of Lexicon PCM96 Surround reverbs with Infinity Core; Input Gain unfold for multi-format channels; Spill Zone for contributing channels; GUI enhancements and new patch groups; A-Line embedded Ethernet; and contribution PAN in stereo channels to mono Aux busses.

With the 5.2 software, saved Strip Setups can be assigned as CUE Events in the CUE List. Recalling CUEs that have these events assigned, will automatically load the specified Strip Setup onto the desk’s surface. This feature is a great help for users who are mixing in a “scene”-based workflow like in application such as theatres and pre-programmed shows. Loading the CUEs for the next scene will also bring the currently needed channels onto the surface.

Up to four Soundcraft Realtime Racks, loaded with high quality Universal Audio (UAD) Plug-Ins, can now be connected to every Vista system. All plug-in parameters are saved and recalled by CUE events. The CUE events are also organized in a library and can be re-used for other CUE events. The individual CUE events can be enabled and disabled, and can be updated at any time.

Vista FX quality reverb is now also available for Vista X and Vista V running on Infinity Cores. Up to six (in pairs of two) original Lexicon PCM96 Surround reverb units can be connected over AES/EBU. Parameter control works over HARMAN HiQnet™ directly from the mixer’s Vistonics™ user interface.

In addition, stereo and 5.1 input channels will have individual digital input gain parameters for each channel leg. Pressing the button next to the ‘Main’ digital input gain Vistonics rotary will flip the input page into a view, where the individual digital input gain parameters (L, R, C, LFE, Ls, Rs) are accessible.

Channels contributing to any type of busses can immediately be brought up within a user-definable ‘Spill Zone’, on top of the desk’s active fader layer. Pressing the Contribution button of any bus channel in the control bay will line up all channels in the predefined Spill Zone, which are contributing to this bus, allowing full processing parameter access of these member channels. The user can quickly define the size, position and spill direction of the Spill Zone at any time from the Strip Setup page.

The 5.2 software’s User GUI is also enhanced with the well-known Ribbon Bar, giving a better overview and easier access for the operator. With the Infinity Core’s power, a huge amount of channels can be organized and controlled. To simplify this task, new user-definable Patch Groups, comprising easy-to-handle filtering options as well as customizable Source and Target views have been added.

For Infinity Core with D23m, the Ethernet control signal can be tunnelled together with the audio stream from the CoreLink card through the A-Link ports to the D23m’s HD cards. This means that no additional Ethernet cable has to be connected to the D23m’s Ethernet card anymore (although this option is still available).

Finally, in stereo channels, all contribution paths to mono Aux busses now have a PAN control before the mix-down to mono. This not only enables assignment of the channel’s left or right leg to the Aux bus, but also sends a user-defined mix of the stereo channel to the mono Aux bus. This dramatically expands the possibilities of signal contribution to loudspeakers, especially in theatres.

HARMAN (www.harman.com) designs, manufactures and markets premier audio, visual, infotainment and enterprise automation solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets. With leading brands including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon®, Mark Levinson ® and Revel®, the Company is admired by audiophiles, musicians and the entertainment venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of approximately 17,600 people across the Americas, Europe, and Asia and reported sales of $5.9 billion during the last 12 months ended December 31, 2014.

LAS VEGAS, Nevada — Unscripted multi-microphone live events such as talk shows, game shows and discussion panels suffer from both microphone spill and background noise. With each active microphone added to the mix, the overall sound quality deteriorates. The result is decreased intelligibility and unpleasant comb filter effects (phase distortion).

At NAB 2013, HARMAN’s Studer is introducing the antidote to these problems through a software upgrade for its range of Vista digital mixing consoles. StuderVistaMix automatic microphone mixing removes the need for an operator to manually adjust all the faders all the time, leaving the microphones of talking participants open, while closing the microphones of silent participants in order to reduce spill and background noise.

Without this facility, the reaction time of a human operator will often result in audible fade-ins of people who start talking rather unexpectedly. Also, changes in fader positions can quickly lead to disturbing changes of the total ambience/noise level in the mix.

VistaMix offers the solution by mimicking the action of a human operator: increasing gain for ‘talking’ mics and reducing gain for all others, but doing it very quickly and keeping the amount of total gain constant, so a clean live mix can be created.

VistaMix also offers the ideal solution for news operations when multiple mics are installed in the studio but the desk operator is not sure which ones will be used. VistaMix switches on only those mics that are in use. VistaMix source channels may also be mix minus (N–X) owners.

Each source channel has a weight control, which provides two possibilities:

Firstly, it allows the desk operator to add weight, or priority, to the main presenter such that if required he can ‘talk over’ the guests or contestants.

Secondly, it allows the desk operator to give more gain in the mix to any contributors who have weak voices or are too far from their microphones. The weight control may also be used during a show to adjust the relative balance dynamically. This function is set with the ‘Knob Assign’ control.

This significant new feature is available to all existing Vista systems with SCore Live DSP engines. By simply upgrading to software version 4.8 and adding the special VistaMix channels to the DSP configuration, VistaMix is ready to go. No additional hardware is required to the Vista surface, the new controls are fully implemented within the standard Vistonics™ screens and controls.

HARMAN (www.harman.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets – supported by 15 leading brands, including AKG, Harman Kardon, Infinity, JBL, Lexicon and Mark Levinson. The company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 20 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 13,400 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported sales of $4.4 billion for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2012.

NORTHRIDGE, California — Following an overwhelmingly successful two weeks of sessions in July, the Studer Broadcast Academy will continue in September with a series of dates in Texas. Locations include Houston, San Antonio and Dallas-Fort Worth.

The Studer Broadcast Academy is designed to educate and support the interests of audio engineers around the world. The Broadcast Academy sessions include hands-on training for Studer’s Vista consoles as part of certification modules that will provide engineers with proof of efficiency with the Vista line.

At the Broadcast Academy, Studer factory experts provide the training and attendees will receive official factory certification at every stage of the curriculum. The curriculum is broken down into modules, making learning more digestible and convenient for attendees’ schedules.

“We launched the Studer Broadcast Academy to address the trend of more freelance engineers taking on projects than ever before, with the goal of enabling these engineers to gain proficiency with the Studer product line,” says Katy Templeman-Holmes, Studer Broadcast Academy. “The initial sessions in July exceeded all expectations and we are looking forward to even more success in Texas!”

Confirmed dates for the Studer Broadcast Academy sessions include:

September 22: Houston, TX (Vista Foundation)

September 23: Houston, TX (Vista Intermediate)

September 26: San Antonio, TX (Vista Foundation)

September 29: Dallas-Fort Worth, TX (Vista Foundation)

September 30: Dallas-Fort Worth, TX (Vista Intermediate)

More information on the Studer Broadcast Academy can be found at usa.studer.ch

HARMAN (www.harman.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets – supported by 15 leading brands including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon® and Mark Levinson®. The Company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 20 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 12,000 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported sales of $3.8 billion for the twelve months ending June 30, 2011.

NASHVILLE, Tennessee — The acclaimed Soundcraft Vi4 digital console has been chosen as the centerpiece of the audio system for the newly commissioned TNDV “Aspiration” mobile production vehicle, the second vehicle in TNDV’s growing fleet (a third is already in progress) and the first mobile production truck in the southeastern United States to support live, multi-camera 3D productions.

The new 40-foot expanding-side mobile production truck delivers premium SD/HD/3D remote video production services for broadcast TV, worship events, corporate video projects, concerts, ceremonies and other live events, for clients including SPEED, BET, GAC, and other major broadcast and cable networks. It’s fitted with a sophisticated production workflow featuring up to 12 cameras, a large routing system, a feature-rich production switcher and a comprehensive 5.1 surround audio suite, centered on the Soundcraft Vi4 console, which was purchased through Brantley Sound in Nashville.

Nic Dugger, President of TNDV and 3-time Emmy® Award winner, understands broadcast technology to a depth few in the industry can match. He began his career at the age of 11, pulling cable at a west Tennessee television station. After graduating from the media technology arts program at Middle Tennessee State University (where he would also later teach), Dugger vowed to work professionally in every aspect of broadcast, from color correction to camera operator. During four years as an audio engineer, he was the A1 for National Geographic’s live multi-camera event from the Peruvian rain forest. “It was the kind of environment in which you learned to solve problems quickly, and learned what equipment you could really rely on,” he says.

All that experience went into the choice of the Soundcraft Vi4 console for Aspiration. Dugger cannot say enough about the amount of features and the sonic quality that Soundcraft has built into the small footprint of the Vi4 desk. “We knew we wanted 64 to 72 inputs, and we needed a console that has a MADI interface, since our onboard MADI router controls not only what gets recorded to multi-track to both of our multi-track recording devices but also how those inputs are grouped,” he explains. “Plus, because we do many outdoor concert events that require fast switching between artists, we needed powerful automation so the engineer can recall presets with the push of a button.”

The Vi4 gave Dugger all this functionality and excellent sound as well. “I have to keep coming back to the fact that Soundcraft got all of that into a very small footprint, which is crucial for a mobile production vehicle—every extra inch brings an extra fine from the Department of Transportation,” he jokes. “But seriously, the Vi4 gives Aspiration the audio capability we need for an HD, 3D mobile production truck. It will take us well into the future.”

HARMAN (www.harman.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets – supported by 15 leading brands including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon® and Mark Levinson®. The Company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 20 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 11,800 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported sales of $3.5 billion for the twelve months ended December 31, 2010. The Company’s shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NYSE:HAR.

LOS ANGELES, California — Illustrating how HARMAN’s acclaimed Studer Vista 8 digital console can raise the bar for audio in any broadcast application, TVG, the official television and Interactive Wagering partner of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), has installed a new Vista 8 at its broadcast production and post production facilities in Los Angeles.

TVG provides live feeds, via cable and satellite distribution including the DISH Network and DirecTV, of all major thoroughbred races from all the leading race track venues in the U.S., as part of the online wagering activities of its parent company, the Betfair Group, the largest online betting organization in the world. The Studer Vista 8 console is the centerpiece of TVG’s strategy to move horseracing broadcasting into the high-definition era, bringing with it high-quality 5.1 surround audio, for programming such as “Trackside Live,” TVG’s flagship show.

“The Vista 8 will be our main console for all of our production and post-production,” states Frank Walters, TVG’s Manager of Engineering, who adds that the console will be fully commissioned in its facility this summer.

Walters, who says the network’s transition to HD should be complete by next year, was a champion of the Vista 8 from the moment he first sat down behind one. “In the end, all of the digital consoles out there can do many of the same tasks, but the difference with the Vista 8 is the sheer user-friendliness of the console,” he said. “I sat down with a console from one of the other leading broadcast manufacturers and I was lost for the first 20 minutes. I sat down at a Vista 8 and felt like an expert in five minutes, it’s just that simple to use.”

To Walters, that simply underscores what he and his mixers can accomplish with the Vista 8’s sophisticated capabilities. “We have as many as 10 live horse track feeds per hour and we’ll show one right after the other, with commentary from the track and our studios, as well as the ambient sound from the tracks,” he explains. “It’s a lot to manage, but the Vista 8 will make that job much easier.”

Walters cited features such as Studer’s patented Vistonics™ user interface, which provides unmatched analog console-like control and a clear, easily understandable display of all operating parameters along with fast, easy operation, and the surround sound management and mixdown facilities. “Features like that won over my senior audio mixer,” says Walters. “The Vista 8 is going to be a game-changer when it comes to horseracing on television. I’d say we made a very good bet.”

HARMAN (www.harman.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets – supported by 15 leading brands including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon® and Mark Levinson®. The Company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 20 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 11,800 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported sales of $3.5 billion for the twelve months ended December 31, 2010. The Company’s shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NYSE:HAR.